A couple months ago, I saw on the r/foundpaper subreddit this collection of playing cards, each of which was found by OP on the street over the last five years or so. Immediately, I thought, How fun and cool!! and Why didn’t I think of that!! And then I realized I kind of had (I’m using “kind of” very loosely here).
Back in 2024, I set a goal to go on more walks. During those walks, I encountered quite a bit of detritus and ephemera from daily life. Because I’m a sucker for such things, I brought many of those items homes, collecting them in a document box (and then another (and then another)), unintentionally establishing a collection of assorted found items (one man’s trash, etc.). This collection of miscellany includes—you guessed it—playing (and adjacent) cards.
Currently, my collection consists of 65 individual cards made up of five different genres of cards: traditional playing cards, collectible/trading card game cards, cards from party games and family game night games, spiritual cards, and athlete trading cards.
Traditional playing cards make up the bulk of my current collection, with 41 cards from four different decks.
A closer look at the backs of those four decks:
I like the simple design, clean lines, and white space of the National Parks playing cards from The Landmark Project; the circular shape of that Ace of Clubs, from Waddington Ltd.’s Rondo Circular deck, is so fun; and I think the back of that card from the White Edition of the Artisan deck, which is hand-illustrated and hot-stamped with gold foil, is gorgeous and impressive.
Twenty-four of the cards currently in my collection are other types of cards, mostly from various proprietary card games.
Top row, left to right:
- Sussed
- Gundam
- Guess Who?: Mystery Cows Edition (limited-time collab with Chick-fil-a for their kids meals)
- Uno
- One Piece
Middle row:
Bottom row, left to right:
- Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck
- Prism Oracle deck
- Labyrinth Tarot deck
- The Chart of Your Divine Self prayer card
- 2025 Portland Thorn Parkside Collectibles athlete trading cards
I found most of the cards in my collection on the ground, including this trio of tarot cards that were waiting for me outside of my car after my first-ever field trip through Memory Den—and that definitely weren’t there about an hour earlier when I walked into the store.
Some—the Rider-Waite Six of Cups tarot card, the purple “Faith” card, the “the chart of your own divine self” prayer card (found only two days ago!), and the pack of cards from That Sound Game—I found on utility poles.
The Sasquatch Joker from the Landmark deck is my favorite of the bunch. My favorite cards to find are the spiritual ones. Each time I happen upon one (or three), I get a little burst of excitement and a feeling of good fortune.
Before seeing the Reddit post that inspired this one, I hadn’t realized that collecting found playing cards in general or that collecting them with the specific intent to build a complete deck of 52 unique cards were even hobbies, let alone such popular ones (this, despite my own humble—and less focused—collection of found cards). But of course they are. The internet is full of people who collect cards—mostly traditional playing cards—they find on the street. If you have a brain like mine, be careful when googling. It’s a quick decent into a bottomless rabbit hole. A few favorites:
Collected by Valerie Courtney:
Collected by Claire Halpin:
Claire’s collection even became an exhibit at an art museum. How fun is that!!
Collected by Graham Dunning:
I appreciate Graham mentioning in his post the act of paying attention to the time in between finding each card, and how the project of constructing a full deck entirely from found cards is a classic example of the coupon collector’s problem, which is a roadblock I’ve been up against since 2018 in my pursuit to find Series 1990 or earlier $50 and $100 bills to add to my collection of pre-color, pre-enlarged heads American bills.
I’m also a big fan of this deck of playing cards, whose face cards are images of found objects. Very I Spy:
The Reddit post that inspired this one has also inspired me to be more intentional about my found-card collecting. I like the unexpectedness and slowness of the process (the thrill of the hunt, some might say), and I think it’ll be fun and rewarding to build a deck from found cards, with each card originating from a different deck, and to expand my current collection of found cards, made up of different types of cards, not just playing cards. Who knows what other adventures, curiosities, and side quests will pop up along the way.